UW researchers have performed what they believe is
the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface,
with one researcher able to send a brain signal
via the Internet to control the hand motions of a
fellow researcher.

Using electrical brain recordings
and a form of magnetic stimulation, professor of computer
science and engineering Rajesh Rao sent a brain signal to Andrea
Stocco, a research assistant professor in psychology at the
UW’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences, on the other side
of the UW campus, causing Stocco’s finger to move on a keyboard.

At first blush, this breakthrough brings to mind all kinds
of science-fiction scenarios. But Rao cautions that this technology
only reads certain kinds of simple brain signals, not a person’s
thoughts. And it doesn’t give anyone the ability to control
your actions against your will.

Stocco says the technology could
eventually be used by someone on the ground to help a flight
attendant or passenger land an airplane if the pilot becomes
incapacitated. Or a person with disabilities could communicate
his or her wish for food or water. The brain signals from one
person to another would work even if they didn’t speak the
same language.—Doree Armstrong and Michelle Ma